Van Gogh lookalike a selfie king

Published: May 19 2017 - 4:30PM

Vincent Van Gogh lookalike and controversial artist Matt Butterworth says he has been overwhelmed by the public response to his selfie stall, which he set up in front of the National Gallery of Victoria earlier this week.

Butterworth had put out a hand-painted sign reading 'Take a selfie with a Van Gogh (lookalike)'. The blockbuster exhibition Van Gogh and the Seasons opened at the gallery on April 28.

"I turned up at 10 o'clock thinking, 'there's no-one here, I'm going to look like an idiot'" Butterworth told the ABC. "After the first person did it, it was non-stop."

Butterworth reportedly went on to pose for 147 selfies in 90 minutes and only stopped posting the selfies on Instagram - with the hashtag #notvangogh - when his phone ran out of battery.

This isn't the first time the artist has made headlines. Butterworth's entry into the $10,000 Footscray Art Prize - a handwritten note promising to donate the winning prize money to charity - raised eyebrows.

If you're in Melbourne, Butterworth will be back manning his selfie stall next week, weather permitting.

Butterworth did not respond to requests for comment by Fairfax Media at time of publication.

Van Gogh taking a selfie#notvangogh

A post shared by Theresa Naude (@teri.naude) on May 12, 2017 at 11:59pm PDT

#notvangogh #ngv #vangogh

A post shared by @not_van_gogh on May 14, 2017 at 3:35am PDT

#notvangogh

A post shared by S壹AN (@sean1sm) on May 13, 2017 at 6:52am PDT

This story was found at: http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/van-gogh-lookalike-a-selfie-king-20170519-gw8t1l.html